Presentation given by Bill Davis on June 4, 2012 at the Third Annual Choose Clean Water Conference.

1. Power Assessment
Choose Clean Water Conference
June 4, 2012

2. What Is Power Assessment
• Data driven, (501 c3) analysis of how
much power an organization has,
• The characteristics of that power, what
kind, where, etc.

3. This Is Neither New Nor Rocket
Science
• So why care?
• Because few organizations do it and,
• They are less effective as a result

4. Why Do You Need Power?
• To Win!
• To be a stronger organization overall
because without it the rest of your
organization: fundraising, research,
communication, etc. suffer

5. What is Power?
• Ability to accomplish your goals
• Ability to inflict consequences on your
opposition

6. What Gives You Power
• Depends somewhat on your target, for
example
• Legislature (and some agencies): money,
relationships and information
• Corporations: shareholder, ability to
damage Brand, etc.

7. Power Can And Should
be Measured
• Broad measures such as: no significant
decision made without your knowledge
and consent, and
• Specific based on: key districts, active
members, partners, knowledge of the
districts, etc.

8. District data
• Population
• Major employers
• Election margins
• Major environmental features
• Demographics
• Any other defining characteristics

9. Organizational Database Fields
• Members in a district
• Active members with areas of interest
• Grasstops
– For whom?
– What kind of grasstop? (institutional,
personal, etc.)

10. Enduring Alliances
• What is the basis of the relationship?
Organizational? Personal? Etc.
• What kind of power do they have?
Grassroots? Grasstops?
• How active are they?
• What kinds of messages will likely engage
their members?

11. Building Power Should Be
Integrated into All Organizational
Functions
• Want to win consistently regardless of
short term events
• This takes time, can’t “press a button”

12. Why Is It Useful?
Helps Target:
• Campaigns
• Communications, i.e. audience and
message
• Fundraising
• Organizing
• Coalition/partnerships

13. How Do You Build Power?
• Identify what you have
• Identify where you need more
• Determine the type of power you want to
build
• Develop plan with numeric targets,
resources, etc.
• Structure all programmatic work so that it
builds power win, lose or draw
• Implement
• Review/Refine/adjust

14. Maintain
• Only Build what you will maintain
• Develop internal structures needed to
maintain power
• Will look different for grassroots,
grasstops, partnerships, etc.

15. Other Tools
• Voter file/State Voices
• Social media